Music from the court in Stockholm
The international musical life of the Swedish capital
Schmelzer–Buxtehude–Meder–Roman–Kraus
FiBO Players:
Anthony Marini and Anne Rautiola, violin
Tuula Riisalo, viola
Louna Hosia, viola da gamba and cello
Anna Rinta-Rahko, G-violone and double bass
Pauliina Fred, traverso and recorder
Eero Palviainen, theorbo and guitar
Petteri Pitko, harpsichord
Along with the Thirty Years' War in the early 17th century and the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Sweden advanced as the superpower of Northern Europe. During Queen Christina's reign (1632–54), Stockholm developed into an international and flourishing cultural city. The educated and art-loving monarch invited scholars, philosophers, composers and musicians from around Europe to visit the Northern capital. The music played in Stockholm in the 17th century has been maintained in a music collection kept by Hofkapellmeisters of the Düben family. Nowadays, the collection is stored in the Uppsala University library. The collection holds both French and English dance music, as well as instrumental pieces by German composers, such as Buxtehude, Meder and Schmelzer.
After Christina's reign the thriving musical life faded, until it burst into bloom again in the 18th century, thanks to the Swedish composer Johan Helmich Roman. Roman, who had travelled and studied abroad, worked as Hofkapellmeister for Frederick I, and he also organised Stockholm's first public concerts in the early 1730s. The programs consisted largely of music by Händel.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, international influences spread to Stockholm in many ways. Many people travelled from Sweden to Central and Southern Europe to study, and many people arrived from various countries to work in the Northern capital. German-born Joseph Martin Kraus, for instance, worked as Kapellmeister at the court of King Gustav III. The talented composer lived only a short life and he died in Stockholm in 1792, only some months after the assassinated monarch.
Duration: 1 h 30 min (incl. intermission)